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Sittingbourne and Sheppey

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Sittingbourne and Sheppey
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Map
Boundaries since 2024
Map of constituency
Boundary of Sittingbourne and Sheppey in South East England
CountyKent
Electorate76,818 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsSheerness, Minster, Sittingbourne, Kemsley
Current constituency
Created1997
Member of ParliamentKevin McKenna (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromFaversham

Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency[n 1] in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Kevin McKenna, of the Labour Party.[n 2]

Constituency profile

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High Street, Sittingbourne

Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency in Kent in South East England, within the Borough of Swale. It covers the town of Sittingbourne, which has a population of around 57,000,[2] its nearby villages of Iwade and Newington, and the Isle of Sheppey which includes the towns of Sheerness, Minster and Queenborough and the villages of Halfway Houses and Eastchurch.

Sittingbourne is an industrial town which grew rapidly during the late 19th century as a centre for brickmaking, barge-building and paper manufacturing. Much of this industry has declined and today the town has high levels of deprivation, although there are some affluent suburbs in the south and the surrounding villages are generally wealthy. The Isle of Sheppey is a popular tourist destination with numerous caravan parks and holiday homes. Like many English coastal towns, this area has suffered from the decline in domestic tourism and is also highly-deprived, especially in the commercial port town of Sheerness.[3] House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the UK average and considerably lower than the rest of South East England.[4]

Residents of Sittingbourne and Sheppey have a similar age profile to the rest of the country.[5] They have average levels of income, homeownership and child poverty.[4][6] Residents generally have low levels of education and a high proportion work in the retail, manufacturing and transport sectors.[4][7] The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is in line with the UK-wide rate.[6] White people made up 93% of the population at the 2021 census.[8]

At the local district council, the towns of Sittingbourne and Sheerness are mostly represented by the Labour Party, the rest of the Isle of Sheppey by Conservatives and the mainland villages by localists. At the county council, which held elections more recently (in 2025), all seats in this constituency were won by Reform UK. Voters in Sittingbourne and Sheppey strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 66% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%.[4]

Boundaries

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Map
Map of 2010–2024 boundaries

1997–2010: The Borough of Swale wards of Borden, Eastern, Grove, Hartlip and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Newington, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, West Downs, Woodstock.

2010–2015: The Borough of Swale wards of Borden, Chalkwell, Grove, Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Leysdown and Warden, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, St Michael's, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, Teynham and Lynsted, West Downs, Woodstock.

2015–2024: The Borough of Swale wards of Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow; Borden and Grove Park; Chalkwell; Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch; Homewood; Kemsley; Milton Regis; Minster Cliffs; Murston; Queenborough and Halfway; Roman; Sheerness; Sheppey Central; Sheppey East; Teynham and Lynsted; The Meads; West Downs; and Woodstock.

2024–present: Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

  • The Borough of Swale wards of Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow; Borden and Grove Park; Chalkwell; Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch; Homewood; Kemsley; Milton Regis; Minster Cliffs; Murston; Queenborough and Halfway; Roman; Sheerness; Sheppey Central; Sheppey East; The Meads; and Woodstock.[9]

Reduced in size to bring its electorate within the permitted range by transferring the wards of Teynham and Lynstead, and West Downs to Faversham and Mid Kent.

The constituency was created in 1997, mostly from the former seat of Faversham. It covers some of the district of Swale, including Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.[10]

History

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The constituency was created in 1997 as the successor to the former Faversham constituency, containing around 75% of the electors of the former seat.[11] The removal of the town of Faversham itself (to the new seat of Faversham and Mid Kent) led to the name change, but Sittingbourne had already been the largest town in the former constituency.[12]

Sittingbourne and Sheppey has been a bellwether of the national result since its creation in 1997, and taken together with its predecessor seat of Faversham, the bellwether streak stretches back to 1979. The seat came extremely close to losing this status in the 2005 general election, when Labour held the seat by just 79 votes after a recount, even though the sitting MP, Derek Wyatt, was expecting to lose.[13]

Boundary changes which came into effect for the 2010 general election suggest that the Conservatives would have won the seat in 2005 on the new boundaries, though the estimated notional Conservative majority was extremely small, so that it could have gone either way.

Maintaining its bellwether status, the seat was held by Conservative Gordon Henderson at the 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 elections with very strong majorities, then taken by Labour's Kevin McKenna in 2024. However, McKenna has a majority of only 0.9% having received under 30% of the vote. This was aided by a collapse in the Conservative vote, most of which went to Reform UK, making the seat a 3-way marginal for the next election.

Members of Parliament

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Faversham prior to 1997

ElectionMember[14] Party
1997 Derek Wyatt Labour
2010 Gordon Henderson Conservative
2024 Kevin McKenna Labour

Elections

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Election results 1950–2024

Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kevin McKenna 11,919 29.1 +8.2
Conservative Aisha Cuthbert 11,564 28.2 −38.3
Reform William Fotheringham-Bray 10,512 25.6 N/A
Swale Ind. Mike Baldock 3,238 7.9 N/A
Green Sam Banks 1,692 4.1 +1.9
Liberal Democrats Frances Kneller 1,321 3.2 −3.1
Independent Matt Brown 529 1.3 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Mad Mike Young 223 0.5 −0.4
Majority 355 0.9 N/A
Turnout 40,998 51.9 −9.0
Registered electors 79,067
Labour gain from Conservative Swing Increase23.3

Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[16]
Party Vote %
Conservative31,10666.5
Labour9,76920.9
Liberal Democrats2,9626.3
Others1,8834.1
Green1,0432.2
Turnout 46,763 60.9
Electorate 76,818
General election 2019: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gordon Henderson 34,742 67.6 +7.4
Labour Clive Johnson 10,263 20.0 –10.6
Liberal Democrats Ben Martin 3,213 6.3 +3.6
Independent Monique Bonney 1,257 2.4 N/A
Green Sam Collins 1,188 2.3 +1.2
Monster Raving Loony Mad Mike Young 404 0.8 0.0
Independent Lee McCall 327 0.6 0.0
Majority 24,479 47.6 +18.0
Turnout 51,394 61.2 –1.5
Conservative hold Swing +9.0
General election 2017: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gordon Henderson 30,911 60.2 +10.7
Labour Mike Rolfe 15,700 30.6 +11.0
Independent Mike Baldock 2,133 4.2 N/A
Liberal Democrats Keith Nevols 1,392 2.7 –0.5
Green Mark Lindop 558 1.1 –1.3
Monster Raving Loony Mad Mike Young 403 0.8 +0.2
Independent Lee McCall 292 0.6 N/A
Majority 15,211 29.6 +4.9
Turnout 51,389 62.7 –2.3
Conservative hold Swing –0.2
General election 2015: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gordon Henderson 24,425 49.5 –0.5
UKIP Richard Palmer[20] 12,257 24.8 +19.4
Labour Guy Nicholson 9,673 19.6 –5.0
Liberal Democrats Keith Nevols 1,563 3.2 –13.2
Green Gary Miller 1,185 2.4 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Mad Mike Young 275 0.6 –0.1
Majority 12,168 24.7 –0.7
Turnout 49,378 65.0 +0.5
Conservative hold Swing –10.0
General election 2010: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gordon Henderson 24,313 50.0 +8.2
Labour Angela Harrison 11,930 24.6 –17.0
Liberal Democrats Keith Nevols 7,943 16.4 +3.5
UKIP Ian Davison 2,610 5.4 +3.1
BNP Lawrence Tames 1,305 2.7 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Mad Mike Young 319 0.7 N/A
Independent David Cassidy 158 0.3 N/A
Majority 12,383 25.4 N/A
Turnout 48,578 64.5 +10.8
Conservative hold Swing +12.7

Although its predecessor seat was narrowly retained by Labour in 2005, intervening boundary changes made the constituency notionally Conservative prior to the 2010 general election, and it is therefore listed as a hold rather than a gain.[22][23]

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2005: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Derek Wyatt 17,051 41.8 –4.0
Conservative Gordon Henderson 16,972 41.6 +5.1
Liberal Democrats Jane Nelson 5,183 12.7 –1.4
UKIP Stephen Dean 926 2.3 +0.6
Rock 'n' Roll Loony Mad Mike Young 479 1.2 –0.6
Veritas David Cassidy 192 0.5 N/A
Majority 79 0.2 –9.1
Turnout 40,803 53.7 –3.8
Labour hold Swing –4.6
General election 2001: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Derek Wyatt 17,340 45.8 +5.2
Conservative Adrian Lee 13,831 36.5 +0.1
Liberal Democrats Elvina Lowe 5,353 14.1 –4.2
Rock 'n' Roll Loony Mad Mike Young 673 1.8 N/A
UKIP Robert Oakley 661 1.7 +0.7
Majority 3,509 9.3 +5.1
Turnout 37,858 57.5 –14.8
Labour hold Swing +2.5

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1997: Sittingbourne and Sheppey[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour Derek Wyatt 18,723 40.6
Conservative Roger Moate 16,794 36.4
Liberal Democrats Roger Truelove 8,447 18.3
Referendum Peter Moull 1,082 2.3
Monster Raving Loony Chris "Screwy" Driver 644 1.4
UKIP Nico Risi 472 1.0
Majority 1,929 4.2
Turnout 46,162 72.3
Labour win (new seat)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

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  1. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Sittingbourne". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Seat Details - Sittingbourne and Sheppey". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Constituency data: Population, by age". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Constituency dashboard". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "2021 census results: Ethnic groups in your constituency". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
  10. ↑ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
  11. ↑ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (1995). The Almanac of British Politics (5th ed.). UK: Routledge. p. 743. ISBN 978-0-415-37823-9.
  12. ↑ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (1991). The Almanac of British Politics (4th ed.). UK: Routledge. p. 402. ISBN 978-0-415-37823-9.
  13. ↑ "Education and Health: 2 Jun 2010: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou.
  14. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)
  15. ↑ Sittingbourne and Sheppey
  16. ↑ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Sittingbourne & Sheppey Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  18. ↑ "Loony Party Candidates". Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  19. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "UK Polling Report". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "The new Westminster constituencies - full list and how they've changed". The Guardian. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  23. ↑ "BBC News Election 2010: results by constituency". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  24. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  26. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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51°23′N 0°44′E / 51.38°N 0.74°E / 51.38; 0.74

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